KARACHI, June 12: A controversy over the administrative control of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has seemingly been resolved due to the intervention of Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who directed the provincial authorities to hand over control of the water utility to the Karachi city government on Thursday.

Mr Zardari issued the directive while presiding over a meeting at the Sindh Chief Minister’s House where Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad, Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Chairman National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Dr Asim Hussain, provincial Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani, Sindh Minister for Public Health Engineering Adil Siddiqui, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal and others were present.

The focus of the meeting was to review the development of the metropolis and future programmes for the betterment of the citizens.

Insiders told Dawn that Mr Zardari believed that the mandate to run the KWSB should be with the city government and hence he issued directives to reverse the decision through which the Sindh government had reconstituted the board, making the local government minister its chairman.

However, no decision with regard to the Karachi Building Control Authority (KBCA) was taken as Mr Zardari would take a final decision later.

Insiders said that when the matter relating to the KWSB came under discussion, Mr Kamal informed Mr Zardari that the provincial government’s decision to take over the administrative control of the water utility was against the spirit of decentralization and also in conflict with the Sindh Local Government Ordinance (SLGO) 2001.

They said Mr Kamal pointed out that although he did not want any confrontation, he believed that the provincial government cannot run the water utility effectively. He also expressed the desire that he was ready to withdraw from the membership of the KWSB.

Sources said that Mr Zardari was apparently convinced with the contentions of Mr Kamal and at one stage he refused Mr Durrani’s proposal to form a committee on the subject.

Insiders privy to details told Dawn that the local government minister was unhappy with Mr Zardari’s decision.

The sources said that the NRB chairman played an important role in this development. He was present during a recent meeting held between the city nazim and Mr Durrani, in which Home Minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza and the Sindh governor were also present. Later, he had briefed Mr Zardari over the matters relating to the KWSB and the KBCA and is believed to have informed him that the points being raised by the Karachi city government were in line with the SLGO 2001.

On April 24, the Sindh government – through a notification – took over the KWSB and KBCA and appointed the local government minister as new chairman and authority, respectively, in place of the city nazim. Mr Kamal, however, implemented an earlier decision of the Sindh government through which he made the KWSB and KBCA as water and sanitation and building control groups of offices’ in the CDGK.

KWSB Managing-Director Suleman Chandio has said that the water tariff for commercial consumers has not been increased since 2001, which will now be revised, adds APP.

He pointed out that the KWSB is recovering Rs2.5 billion annually from water consumers, while annual expenses stand at Rs4 billion.

He was talking to a delegation which met him at his office on Thursday.

Mr Chandio pointed out that the water board is spending Rs1.75 billion on electric bills alone.

He told the delegation that coordination committees will be set up for all the industrial areas, including Korangi, Site, F.B. Area, North Karachi and Landhi. He said these committees would have two representatives of the water board and two from the associations concerned.

He said efforts would be made to hold monthly meetings of these committees so that problems of water supply and sewerage are effectively highlighted and solved.

He issued a directive for completing the held-up development schemes in Korangi 7-A.